To Be Rich
by Haberdashing
Summary: One-shot set in the Transcendence AU (transcendence-au on tumblr). Alcor is summoned by a cult... and a young, scared kid.


The first thing Alcor saw after being summoned was a boy only five or six years old with a freckled face and scraped knees… but a child that young almost certainly couldn't have created a summoning circle with such strength, such precision. He had gone through countless children's summonings by now, and at this age the circles were usually mere sketches, not such elaborate displays. A few glances later and the scene became even stranger. There were the candles, long and white and tapered, and perfect, _too _perfect. A closer look at the room's darkened corners revealed a handful of tall hooded figures, the tallest of the lot almost twice the boy's height. The boy, wearing ragged jean shorts and a tattered white shirt, was clearly out of his element.

"W̦̮̣̠̬̟̑ͥͦ̓̆̑͞ͅH̢̰̗̜ͮͦͤ̽͂̚Ǫ̮̱͈͖͔ͣ̎̋ ͇̞̖̭ͨ̾͆̓̉͆̀D̴̦͔͕̞̹̠̈́̇ͭ̂̂̚A̘̲̣͓̥͒ͣ̊̔ͧͣR̵̖̩̦̺̪̭͕̆E̠͕͍̤̣͕͓S̢̲̜̐̓͗ ̪̘͎̹̬͉̂̄T̜̫̗͑̈ͅO̠̬͍͈͖̤͆̉̅ ̨̺̥͎͉͉ͨͧ̎S͙͕͈̩Ṵ͇̫̮̚M͔̘̱̙̣͈̯̓̆͗ͥ̈́̚M̧͔̤͓͍̞͛ͨȌ̮̬̭̣̔̈̆N̉̀ͣ̓ͧ̐ ͙̯͌T̩̙̝͆ͫ͛͠H̶͖͈ͅE̟̙̦͍̥̗̜ͨ̎ͨ̅͊͝ ͟M͎̂̂ͬͦ̾ͮỈͣ͑͌ͫ͌̋͏̜͈̱͔͔Ǵ̥̪̞̖̦ͯ̇ͮ͒͛H̥̣̤̣̪͎̤͑T̠̙̪̟̏ͮ̇͗̓͒̓ͅͅY̶͕̙̬̒̆̾̿͆̓ ̴̲͈Ȧ̔̓ͣͬ͊Ĺ̹̣̾̊̚͢C̗͈̖̀̈́͐̋O͛ͭ̏́͌̄͏͖͔̥Ŗ͐?̸ͤ̍͐͌ͬͮ̈" He always asked a question of that sort after appearing, of course, and that phrasing was practically boilerplate at this point, but for once, he really meant the words he spoke. Who _were _these people, and why were they entrusting their deal to a young child rather than working on their own terms?

The boy looked downward as he cleared his throat, and Alcor suddenly noticed that he was holding large notecards which were entirely filled with red text. "Oh great and powerful Alcor, we have a, uh, request for you, a deal that we know shall be of service to us both." The boy stumbled over the words and slurred his Rs, his youth shining through in his garbled speech.

Alcor closed his eyes for a brief moment and shook his head. "You didn't actually answer my question. Who A̘̻̗͎̘̅̉̒͋ͭ̓̈R̻̭͓͘ͅE͋ͥͬ̓ you?"

The boy looked up and stared the demon in the eyes, his hands shaking. This wasn't part of their plan. "Well, I'm Jake, and, uh…" He flipped through the notecards rapidly, running through the contents of each one. "…we… have faithfully served you for many years… we are in awe of your immense power…"

"Okay, Jake, pretty sure _you _haven't faithfully served me for many years. You mean _those _guys." He waved his hands in the general direction of the hooded figures, who, after some murmuring, stepped forward and bowed their heads. "You knew I could see you back there, right? I've seen stealthier."

One of the cultists walked forward until they were only a step behind the boy. "We want to make a deal."

"Don't tell me the boy's a sacrifice." Alcor's eyes glowed yellow. "Thought you guys would have learned by now."

The cultist stepped back. "No, no, of course not. He's with us. Now, go on, Jake."

"R-right. Okay." Jake went through card after card again, tracing the words with his fingers, taking several minutes until finding his place and resuming his speech. "We beseech you, oh Alcor the Dreambender, mightiest of demons, great and-"

Alcor sighed. "Get. To. The. POINT."

"Er…" The boy's index finger followed the words to the bottom of the notecard. "We wish to become-" He spilled the notecards onto the floor. The cultist glared at him as he kneeled on the floor and gathered them up again. "-to become rich." The boy looked up at the demon and gave a quick nod. "Very rich."

"Well. Never heard _that _one before." Alcor cackled, the boy joining in with a quiet and nervous laugh while the hooded figures remained silent. "And, pray tell, what's in it for me?"

"You will get… half our funds, to do with as you wish."

"Very well." Alcor drew closer to the boy and the closest cultist, his hands trailing behind him and filling with blue fire as he floated to the limits of the summoning circle. "But I have one more question for you, Jake. You- the cards- keep saying _we_. But are you really part of this group? Do you really want to be part of this deal?"

The boy stared downward, not at his notecards but at the luminous edge of the summoning circle, avoiding eye contact with Alcor. "Y-yeah. I'd like to be rich and whatever." But Alcor could feel the uncertainty and nervousness radiating from the boy's psyche, even beyond that expressed by the boy's halting and stuttering tone.

Alcor crossed his arms. "And you're here because you want to be." The nearest cultist started to open their mouth, but before they could say a word, the demon erased their mouth from their face. "L̛͙̦͈̈̍̂̾̊͐̆Ė̯͓͕͓̫̅̓͐T̡̮̄͂͗ ͕̅́ͬ͐Ṯ͈̄ͨ̔H̸̩̻͎̩͍̞̣̾͒̏̀ͥ̾E̥̜̻ͨ͆͐ͨͧ̍ͅ ̰̤ͨ̑̈̽ͯ́ͅB̪̹͕̻̹̍̓ͅO̭̩̙̟͍ͧ̿͋͊͟Y̨̘̜̥̲̗ͅ ̝̮̦͎̻͔͙͗̋̄̀̓S͔̼̺̜͎̹͈ͮ͛ͬP̫̄Ẽ̚A̛̜͊͐̔̎K̥̞͍͓͍͌́ͭ̂͞!͇ͣ̿̾ͬ̋̚͡"

"Um… I mean, it wasn't…" Jake was sweating, even though the room was cold. "…my mother… but I _want _to-"

Alcor didn't like poking around in the memories of innocents, but the boy was practically offering them up, their presence in the surface of his mind explaining what his words did not. A grimy house, a bare bedroom, a closet holding only a handful of ripped and dirty clothes. A woman with the same freckled face shaking hands with a hooded figure and grinning wildly, sealing a deal as demonic as any of Alcor's own. The woman yelling at the boy, his attempts to squeak out a word for himself silenced first by her own speech, then by a slap on the cheek. The boy being handed cue cards, his body shaking all over, a cultist ruffling his hair before putting on a hood.

And, as the demon looked closed, he saw that the boy still had a red mark on his face, and multiple bruises and scratches on his arm, and a small round scar just below his knee.

"Okay, I got it. You give me half your wealth, and you will be rich. That's the deal?

One of the cultists cleared their throat and spoke up. "_All _of us will be rich, not just the boy."

"Right, right. Good catch." Alcor grinned, a grin wider than any mere human could manage. "You _all _will be rich, you _all _will give me half your wealth. Deal?"

Jake looked back at the cultists, who simultaneously nodded back to the boy. "Deal." The boy closed his eyes as the two shook hands and broke from the grip after the briefest contact.

The room echoed with a loud _thump _as the hoods fell to the ground, their occupants nowhere to be seen.

The boy's mouth hung open as he looked at the empty hoods, then at the demon, then back again. "What- what _happened _to them?"

Alcor floated over to the closest hood, no longer bound by the summoning circle, and reached inside, revealing a large bar of chocolate. "They're rich." The demon took a bite and hummed happily. "_Very _rich. Oh, this is good." He broke the bar in half and held up the unbitten half. "Hey, kid, you want some?"

Jake took a step backwards and shook his head violently, each motion making his hair messier, his eyes fixed on the hoods.

"Your loss." The demon gulped down the rest of the bitten half without bothering to chew it first. "They put all that time into making those notes, too… and they _still _messed up their wording. Idiots, the lot of them."

The boy backed up a few more steps. "A-and what about me?"

"Oh, you're rich now."

The boy's face lost its color, and a tear trickled down his reddened cheek. Alcor shook his head and chuckled. "No, not like that. Really rich. Money rich."

Jake sniffled and looked back up at the demon. "You mean… Mommy…"

The demon's laugh abruptly ended as he looked the boy in the eye. "You mother is not getting a _cent _of that money. Remember how I'm getting half?"

The boy nodded feebly.

"Well, first thing I'm doing is getting you a lawyer to manage that money for you. And then a trust fund, alright? You get a little older, you get your own place, you go to college. You get away from her."

"Mmhmm." The boy's face grew less pale, and his mouth formed a shape that somewhat resembled a smile.

Alcor floated closer to the boy, who backed up some more until his back was against the wall. "And you know what else I'll do with that money?"

The boy shook his head. "No, sir."

"No, _sir_. I like you, kid. Nice and polite." Alcor grinned again, revealing two sets of pointed teeth, and his hands filled with blue fire once more. "So, that money. I'm going to make a public service campaign. Apparently _some _people need to be reminded that demons are nͨ̈́ͦo͖̜͔̲̥̘̊̿̒ͮ̈́̉̓t͈̱͇̤͈̉ͮ͟ to be trifled with." The demon closed his mouth, the grin becoming a thin smile. "But you know that now, right?"

Jake nodded.

"I thought as much. Run along, now."

The boy didn't need to be told twice. He was almost out the door before Alcor held up his hand, freezing the boy in place.

"Oh, and one more thing. Tell your mother that if she _ever _tries a stunt like that again, or hurts you in _any _way… well, she won't get off this lightly again. Got it? Ï̻̀ͯ͞'̠̜̻̬͑ͯ̑̈͡l̬͔̣̠̊̒͐ͬl͎̥̞̱ͤͦ̑ ̸͍̤̘͎̲ͬ̑ḅ͙̪͈̣e̵̗̝͉̗̖͍ͤ̊ ͂w̷̲͕͖̱̖͌̈̐̇aͯ͏̣̦͖̭̠ͅt̢͚̼̮̏͐̏c͉̰̬̥̻̽h̸͂̇̆i̯̖̤͖̺͆̿̒n̞̰̭̘̤ͫg̴͎̠̭͂̽ͅ.͎̖͉̌̎"

Alcor put his hand down. The boy gave him a quick nod and a jittery smile before running out of sight.


End file.
